Omaha Forums

icejammer wrote:

ShawJ wrote:

HskrFanMike wrote:Quick update:  There are three workers "in the hole" this morning.

But before you get your hopes up, they are only using weed whackers to take down the vegetation. My guess is that this is a sign that the status quo will continue for the foreseeable future.

To me that indicates that we won't be hearing anything soon. Because if they were going to start construction, wouldn't they be going down there with heavy equipment anyway to level it out? Then why hire people to do that hard labor?

Just a thought, but I don't know much about construction.

They're not going to pay someone to mobilize and demobilize construction equipment just to level things out; they're not going to put construction equipment on-site until all the i's are dotted and t's crossed.

I know. And if they were going to start construction soon they'd have to get equipment down there to get the foundation ready. Wouldn't they take care of the weeds then with heavier equipment rather than have people hack away with it at a weed wacker?

Just my opinion, and could easily be wrong. I hope I am wrong.

ShawJ wrote:

icejammer wrote:

ShawJ wrote:

HskrFanMike wrote:Quick update:  There are three workers "in the hole" this morning.

But before you get your hopes up, they are only using weed whackers to take down the vegetation. My guess is that this is a sign that the status quo will continue for the foreseeable future.

To me that indicates that we won't be hearing anything soon. Because if they were going to start construction, wouldn't they be going down there with heavy equipment anyway to level it out? Then why hire people to do that hard labor?

Just a thought, but I don't know much about construction.

They're not going to pay someone to mobilize and demobilize construction equipment just to level things out; they're not going to put construction equipment on-site until all the i's are dotted and t's crossed.

I know. And if they were going to start construction soon they'd have to get equipment down there to get the foundation ready. Wouldn't they take care of the weeds then with heavier equipment rather than have people hack away with it at a weed wacker?

Just my opinion, and could easily be wrong. I hope I am wrong.

Aside from a dozer being overkill to knock down some weeds....let's see, pay 3 guys $10/hr for a couple hours to weed whack, or rent a dozer for the day at $400+?  Pretty easy call?

You know Omaha is in desperate need of a "substantial" project when we are discussing weeds in the hole in the ground where a tower will never be built, at least not anytime soon. ; )

icejammer wrote:

ShawJ wrote:

icejammer wrote:

ShawJ wrote:

HskrFanMike wrote:Quick update:  There are three workers "in the hole" this morning.

But before you get your hopes up, they are only using weed whackers to take down the vegetation. My guess is that this is a sign that the status quo will continue for the foreseeable future.

To me that indicates that we won't be hearing anything soon. Because if they were going to start construction, wouldn't they be going down there with heavy equipment anyway to level it out? Then why hire people to do that hard labor?

Just a thought, but I don't know much about construction.

They're not going to pay someone to mobilize and demobilize construction equipment just to level things out; they're not going to put construction equipment on-site until all the i's are dotted and t's crossed.

I know. And if they were going to start construction soon they'd have to get equipment down there to get the foundation ready. Wouldn't they take care of the weeds then with heavier equipment rather than have people hack away with it at a weed wacker?

Just my opinion, and could easily be wrong. I hope I am wrong.

Aside from a dozer being overkill to knock down some weeds....let's see, pay 3 guys $10/hr for a couple hours to weed whack, or rent a dozer for the day at $400+?  Pretty easy call?

What I'm saying is this. If construction is going to start, they will need to get a bulldozer down there regardless to work on the foundation (i.e. flatten it out). Or at least I assume they would have to. So if construction was going to start soon, why wouldn't they just wait until that stage to clear all the weeds out? Knock two steps out at one stage. Hiring three guys to do it would be easier if all it was was a simple clean up project and not for actual construction to start.

I don't mean to make a big deal out of it, I just don't think I explained myself thoroughly.

ShawJ wrote: I know. And if they were going to start construction soon they'd have to get equipment down there to get the foundation ready. Wouldn't they take care of the weeds then with heavier equipment rather than have people hack away with it at a weed wacker?

Just my opinion, and could easily be wrong. I hope I am wrong.

Why not buy a foundation all ready to go?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Spire

Seth wrote:

ShawJ wrote: I know. And if they were going to start construction soon they'd have to get equipment down there to get the foundation ready. Wouldn't they take care of the weeds then with heavier equipment rather than have people hack away with it at a weed wacker?

Just my opinion, and could easily be wrong. I hope I am wrong.

Why not buy a foundation all ready to go?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Spire

The Spire was for me a top 5 reason to move out of Chicago...kind of like if that  d a m n  Vortex was ever built here.

nebport5 wrote:

Seth wrote:

ShawJ wrote: I know. And if they were going to start construction soon they'd have to get equipment down there to get the foundation ready. Wouldn't they take care of the weeds then with heavier equipment rather than have people hack away with it at a weed wacker?

Just my opinion, and could easily be wrong. I hope I am wrong.

Why not buy a foundation all ready to go?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Spire

The Spire was for me a top 5 reason to move out of Chicago...kind of like if that  d a m n  Vortex was ever built here.

2,000ft of di-ldo, that thing would have been a pervert's Mecca.  :lol:

S33 wrote:

nebport5 wrote:

Seth wrote:

ShawJ wrote: I know. And if they were going to start construction soon they'd have to get equipment down there to get the foundation ready. Wouldn't they take care of the weeds then with heavier equipment rather than have people hack away with it at a weed wacker?

Just my opinion, and could easily be wrong. I hope I am wrong.

Why not buy a foundation all ready to go?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Spire

The Spire was for me a top 5 reason to move out of Chicago...kind of like if that  d a m n  Vortex was ever built here.

2,000ft of di-ldo, that thing would have been a pervert's Mecca.  :lol:

definitely would fit in with "boys town" on the north side, where phallic looking rainbow structures flank Halsted.

S33 wrote:

nebport5 wrote:

Seth wrote:

ShawJ wrote: I know. And if they were going to start construction soon they'd have to get equipment down there to get the foundation ready. Wouldn't they take care of the weeds then with heavier equipment rather than have people hack away with it at a weed wacker?

Just my opinion, and could easily be wrong. I hope I am wrong.

Why not buy a foundation all ready to go?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Spire

The Spire was for me a top 5 reason to move out of Chicago...kind of like if that  d a m n  Vortex was ever built here.

2,000ft of di-ldo, that thing would have been a pervert's Mecca.  :lol:

I dunno, the Brits may have us beat with 30 St. Mary Axe

The Gherkin is, in fact, |expletive| awesome.

If you listen very carefully you can hear the sound of another deadline zipping by.

ShawJ wrote:If you listen very carefully you can hear the sound of another deadline zipping by.

Is that what it was? i could have sworn it was an army of bulldozers and construction equipment  :D

They did knock down the weeds in the hole, but it has been so long since anything has happened there that there seems to be a small pond developing in the middle, at least there are cattails there!!!  Guess they couldn't get to those with their weed eaters.

The Building Board of Review gave them a layover until November 8.

DISPOSITION: Laid over until the November 8, 2010 meeting to allow the appealant time to secure financing and begin construction. The property must be kept maintained.

It will be interesting to see if he has the same excuse next month.

http://www.cityofomaha.org/planning/ima ... Agenda.pdf[/quote]

Seth wrote:The Building Board of Review gave them a layover until November 8.

DISPOSITION: Laid over until the November 8, 2010 meeting to allow the appealant time to secure financing and begin construction. The property must be kept maintained.

It will be interesting to see if he has the same excuse next month.

http://www.cityofomaha.org/planning/ima ... Agenda.pdf

I quoted it without the quote for everyone to click on (comes up as a 404 error if you don't), but here's what it is:

Case No. 10-42
Wallstreet Tower Omaha, LLC
Attn: Chet Clark
12635 Hemlock
Overland Park, KS 66213
LOCATION:
REQUEST:
1441 Capitol Avenue, Excavation Hole/Excavation Site
Appeal International Property Maintenance Code Notice of Violation dated June 25, 2010
DISPOSITION: Laid over until the November 8, 2010 meeting to allow the appealant time to secure financing and begin construction. The property must be kept maintained.

so they still haven't secured financing...still haven't began construction...still saying the same |expletive| they were saying 2 years ago.  I get that the economy sucks and that its hard to get things going, etc etc etc...but seriously?  It's been 5 years since they announced it and the only difference is that UP is now gone.  Surely something could happen in 5 years, since they started before the economy took a poop?

I'm not knocking their efforts, but at this point it seems fair to say we'll never see it rise.

We are in the 'Projects Never Built' section...right?

yes...and that's why it is a "no |expletive| sherlock" kind of moment but even though it is in this section, everyone still thinks of it as a current project with at least a chance of happening.  Pretty much everything else in the section has at least been announced as officially dead.

I know absolutely nothing about real estate or wevs, but what about the people who have already reserved condos in this building? Has money exchanged hands? Are people backing out, sticking with it and waiting?

There comes a time when you need to stop looking around the house for the presents you asked for and just patiently wait and see what shows up Christmas morning.

Stargazer wrote:There comes a time when you need to stop looking around the house for the presents you asked for and just patiently wait and see what shows up Christmas morning.

Are you suggesting that the entire time I was growing up, Santa pre-delivered the gifts and, in fact, was not present on x-mas eve? That fat, lying, cookie smashing son of a bytch.

My opinion is the original design or bust.  That new design they have is kinda fugly.  

If this falls through it's not the end of a large project on that site.  Remember all of the proposals we had?  I say if they cannot get it going by the upcoming date specified, then put up the property again for bids.

Townsend clearly struck out, but I still admire the company for their continued efforts despite all that is stacked against them (banks backing out of promises, economy etc). They are still a very reputable company.

While I enjoy bagging on Townsend as much as anyone, they haven't really done anything wrong. They entered a decent Omaha market with a solid plan, just bad timing and the market fell apart.

I'm just glad they were able to get rid of the old mismatched UP building, I always hated that thing. (I know I'll get hammered for that one)

Erik wrote: If this falls through it's not the end of a large project on that site.  Remember all of the proposals we had?

All two of them?

The only chance this site has now is fill it in with dirt and plant grass. Wait a couple of years and then Townsend unveils a new tower. New design, new name, etc. There is a giant stigma attached to "Wallstreet Tower" now. It will never get built.

I've said this to a few people, but hindsight being 20/20, they picked the wrong proposal. Had they picked the office tower and worked at getting Blue Cross or TD Ameritrade in there as an anchor tenant, Omaha would likely have another tower in it's skyline now.

I just wish they'd change the pretentious name of the thing.  The market seems to be moving toward rental properties----Midtown Crossing is a perfect example.  Is it easier to get financing for a rental project these days?  Dunno.

the1wags wrote:

Erik wrote: If this falls through it's not the end of a large project on that site.  Remember all of the proposals we had?

All two of them?

The only chance this site has now is fill it in with dirt and plant grass. Wait a couple of years and then Townsend unveils a new tower. New design, new name, etc. There is a giant stigma attached to "Wallstreet Tower" now. It will never get built.

I've said this to a few people, but hindsight being 20/20, they picked the wrong proposal. Had they picked the office tower and worked at getting Blue Cross or TD Ameritrade in there as an anchor tenant, Omaha would likely have another tower in it's skyline now.

Actually there were more like 5 or 6 big proposals.  The two you are referring to where the 'final' two after the others had been weeded out.

I was just checking out some hotel/residential towers under 400ft and I came across the hotel Palomar in Chicago. It's a 36 floor hotel/condo/apartment tower. The design of the tower is nearly identical to what the new Wallstreet tower could look like if built. The actually photo of the building really shows just how nice the sliced in half new design of the WST building could look. It's on Skyscraperpage.com.

No hint was given last night on WOWT on what will happen, but Townsend was quoted as saying "an announcement on the project will be made in November".

This seems to coincide with the city's demand to move forward by November 8 or the site will be up for bidding again.

Erik wrote:This seems to coincide with the city's demand to move forward by November 8 or the site will be up for bidding again.

Umm, how can the city do this?  Townsend has title to the property (I don't believe that the original purchase agreement had any stipulations as to project completion dates), and has spent some significant money on the site on demolition.  I'd doubt that they'd just turn it back over to the city without a fight.  Would the city try to claim it back under "Eminent Domain" or something like that?

Not that I'm trying to defend Townsend at all, as I really think its a shame to see that hole as I drive past it practically every day, but it is legally their property.  They could be holding it as an investment, just like the OWH is holding their old office block.

Here are the detailed minutes from the August BBR meeting (it seems to take them two months to get them online):

http://www.cityofomaha.org/planning/ima ... 20Min1.pdf

Here's the summarizing quote:

...stated that construction is expected to begin in November 2010. Mr. Epstein recommended an extension provided that the overgrowth and weeds at the site are completely maintained every two to four weeks.

Like we haven't heard "construction expected to begin (insert date)" before.

I do feel bad for them, though, and hope they're able to get this pulled together.

On a side note, this continued struggle doesn't seem to indicate the library lot will be destined for a big-dollar office tower anytime soon.  Hopefully I can check out my books from that location for quite a while yet.

Ben wrote:

Erik wrote:This seems to coincide with the city's demand to move forward by November 8 or the site will be up for bidding again.

Umm, how can the city do this?  Townsend has title to the property (I don't believe that the original purchase agreement had any stipulations as to project completion dates), and has spent some significant money on the site on demolition.  I'd doubt that they'd just turn it back over to the city without a fight.  Would the city try to claim it back under "Eminent Domain" or something like that?

Not that I'm trying to defend Townsend at all, as I really think its a shame to see that hole as I drive past it practically every day, but it is legally their property.  They could be holding it as an investment, just like the OWH is holding their old office block.

The city included a clause to the bidder. They had until August of 2010 to being construction, but they decided to extend it to November.

I so hope this gets built.  I was reading this thread last night, and was hoping the project doesn't get canceled for good -- especially with that hole in the ground.  It would look so neat standing in downtown Omaha, with its gleaming glass, and white/silvery shine.  It would make the skyline look even sharper (of course).  I like how Omaha is building more white buildings with silvery glass, as it not only looks so sharp and high-tech, that kind of coloring also looks neat in the winter months, I feel, with all the snow around.

We're just a couple weeks away, barring yet another extension.

Two weeks?  We'll have to wait and see...

RockHarbor wrote:Two weeks?  We'll have to wait and see...

9 days now.  :mrgreen:

Erik wrote:No hint was given last night on WOWT on what will happen, but Townsend was quoted as saying "an announcement on the project will be made in November".

This seems to coincide with the city's demand to move forward by November 8 or the site will be up for bidding again.

Bosco55David wrote:

RockHarbor wrote:Two weeks?  We'll have to wait and see...

9 days now.  :mrgreen:

Erik wrote:No hint was given last night on WOWT on what will happen, but Townsend was quoted as saying "an announcement on the project will be made in November".

This seems to coincide with the city's demand to move forward by November 8 or the site will be up for bidding again.

Nine days?  Well, I never put an 'X' on my Chicago 2010 calender.  But, for this date, I may.  :)

Well maybe the record "Most users ever online was 80 on Mon Jun 04, 2007 8:19 pm" will be broken Monday.  I am assuming this was the time Wallstreet Tower was first anounced.

omahahawk wrote:Well maybe the record "Most users ever online was 80 on Mon Jun 04, 2007 8:19 pm" will be broken Monday.  I am assuming this was the time Wallstreet Tower was first anounced.

If you look back in this thread, I believe WST was announced in 2005.

Isn't tomorrow the next deadline?
How amazing would it be if it were actually announced? Ha. Not holding my breath.

In looking back at the crazy "chop-job" rendering showing the new "L" shaped building, I'm wondering why they didn't just spread the remaining square footage of the building into an even, cohesive structure, keeping the height but giving it a smaller footprint, and allowing the developers to potentially lease or sell a portion of the lot for another use, giving them some supplementary income...

We'd have a better looking building, a better use of land, and potentially an additional use on that site... Makes too much sense I guess.

A lot of companies or businesses really prefer to have their employees on as few floors as possible. I believe the WST had some data company that was projected to take up a few floors. A business like that might not have wanted everything split between 8 floors when the original plan was 3 floors.  As for Townsend only developing a portion of the block, I would highly doubt that would be feasible with the original agreement with the city to develop the entire block, otherwise Townsend could really just decide to lease or sell the entire lot at there liking. I agree with what your saying I just don't see how that could transpire. I realize there is a deadline set for tomorrow but does anyone actually know if there will  be any announcement one way or another??????